Grease
by Jem the Cat
Summary: Zexion really had no idea how he ended up working at an auto shop that smelled like pine refresheners and played bad techno music. AU, Zemyx, Cleon, Akuroku, Soiku. M to be safe. For Dualism.


**Grease**

**Description**: Zexion really had no idea how he ended up working at an auto shop that smelled like pine refresheners and played bad techno music. AU, Zemyx, Cleon, Akuroku, Soiku. M to be safe.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. Except for the plot.

A/N: This happens to be my first fanfic. Go easy on me, okay? x:

Zexion really had no idea how it had come to this.

He drove around in aimless circles around the streets of Newport, gaze irritated as he scanned the streets for any sign of an auto shop. He supposed it was due largely to the other driver's incompetence – whoever the _hell_ that other driver had been. All Zexion knew was that one minute, he had paused as the traffic light flickered to yellow, and some idiot from behind had crashed into the back of his faded silver Acura before speeding off, sticking their middle finger out of the window.

Right after Zexion's surprised mind prodded at him to at least feel mildly offended, Zexion had realized that the impact hadn't sounded particularly mediocre. He had pulled over into the nearest McDonald's parking lot and inspected the damage with a furrowed brow and sour face.

Sure enough, a dent about 8 inches in diameter marred the right fender in the back, alongside a few scrapes on the once immaculate paint job. _That is just fucking splendid, _Zexion had fumed. This wasn't exactly a pleasant surprise to bring home to his older brother Leon; especially since this was Leon's car that Zexion merely borrowed to go to work – although, Zexion mused, he would hardly need to use it now. He had just been fired from said job, and now that left his brother paying the bulk of the rent of their crappy one bedroom apartment. And though Zexion was too proud to admit it, he really was shaking in his boots at the thought of facing Leon with his present situation.

So, at a last-ditch attempt to rectify this disastrous afternoon, Zexion had decided to at least fix up the car with his last paycheck before breaking the news to Leon. He wasn't having any luck so far though; the streets were lined with quaint little coffee shops and tiny boutiques painted vibrant colors, with the occasional cinema or hotel, with no auto shop in sight. Zexion growled in frustration, pushing his hair out of his eyes and cranking the AC up even higher. He always had clearer focus when the air was nearly frigid, though Leon often complained he was raising the bills by constantly turning the thermostat to fifty, and threatened to start placing radiators by every available outlet.

Eventually, however, the two hours of aimless wandering had brought Zexion into the inner city, and he couldn't resist lifting the corners of his mouth in a small smirk at the sight of a green and blue neon sign – Astoria's Auto. Well, that certainly was an odd name for an auto shop, Zexion had thought, pulling into the parking lot. The place certainly seemed trustworthy enough – that is, until Zexion saw the piercing parlor adjacent to it. There he faltered before switching off the engine. Huh. Well. That was another detail he could overlook. There was no way in hell he was going back out there and searching again for god knows how long.

With a resigned sigh he prepared to pull the keys out of the ignition, until someone tapped on his window.

Startled, Zexion glanced up, and was met with eyes the color of seaglass. A young man stood there – dark blond hair slightly spiked, bangs falling into his eyes, dressed in a simple black wifebeater and grey jeans. He gestured for Zexion to roll down the window, which he did, but not without another irritated sigh.

"Customer?" the boy asked, which made Zexion raise one eyebrow. Why else would he be here, anyway? His expression made the other laugh sheepishly. "Sorry, just clarifying. We do piercings and tattoos too, so… you know. But you don't seem like that kind of guy, anyway! But…" Realizing he was rambling, he laughed again, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um… why don't you drive into the garage? I'll have a look at your car."

Zexion merely nodded, turned the keys, and drove smoothly up a ramp and into the garage before stepping out. The interior of the garage was blessedly cool, and definitely not what he had expected. The floor of the garage was not gravel, but a smooth, translucent concrete, and the walls were painted a clean white, lacking any stains or marks. It was a lot more spacious and airy inside than he had expected as well, the walls and ceiling supported by black steel girders. There were a few latticed windows, but most of the light came from mounted spot lights. Metal shelves lined the walls, and a radio was perched on one, softly playing Dirty Vegas' "Days Go By". The air smelt pretty clean, with a hint of diesel, leather and those tree-shaped pine refresheners.

Zexion took another moment to survey his surroundings; a few other customers were getting their cars fixed or repainted: a redhead with his hair pulled back into a ponytail was busy rubbing out a scratch on a cherry-red Chevrolet; another redhead (was it Zexion's imagination, or had this redhead smirked at him in a decidedly taunting manner?) this time with spikes of hair settling over his shoulders, was helping a short blond boy lift a new windshield into a battered Buick; another boy with spikes of cinnamon-colored hair was scowling and attempting to fix a bent windshield wiper on a brand-new Saab, a boy with shoulder-length silver hair looking over his shoulder.

The man from outside finally strolled in, twirling a wrench with easy, snapping motions of his wrist before coming to a stop before Zexion. "Hi, I'm Demyx, and welcome to Astoria's!" he grinned and held out his hand for Zexion to shake, which he did, albeit reluctantly. The blond's hands were streaked with grease.

"So, what's your name?" Demyx asked, rocking back on his heels as he regarded Zexion with those sea-green eyes. They really were the most captivating color, Zexion realized – a warm blue speckled with emerald. He shook himself from his stupor and answered, shortly, "Zexion."

"Oh…" Demyx seemed a little put-off by his coldness, but shrugged it off easily. "Alright, let's have a look at your car. It's an Acura NSX, isn't it?"

Zexion shrugged. Quite honestly, he couldn't even remember what model the car was if not for the silver plated letters emblazoned on the back and side.

Demyx walked slowly around the car, slim fingers skittering along the paint, before he found the dent. He frowned, eyebrows drawing together slightly and bottom lip sticking out in a pout. The boy may be an idiot, Zexion's mind smirked, but that look is rather… endearing on him.

Before Zexion could mentally swat at his mind, Demyx had looked up, his frown replaced by a bright grin. "Well, it's a shame about your car, but I can fix this up by tomorrow. Let's see… just a preventative maintenance package and some tune-ups… yeah… okay!" Seemingly finished with talking to himself, Demyx smiled again and said, "Your total comes up to $345, will that be cash or check?"

Zexion used all of his self-control to muffle a groan. $345? That was worth three weeks' paychecks, at least! Oh well, it was all for a good cause. After all, Zexion wasn't exactly eager for Leon to scar his face the exact same way he had accidentally scarred his own.

"Oh, before I forget… we're having a special on paint jobs, 50% off. Would you like me to include that?"

"No, thank you," Zexion said indifferently, already digging out his wallet. He wanted to be in and out, as fast as possible, before Leon got suspicious. Oh, what would he tell Leon about the car? That he left it at work? But then how would he fabricate a story concerning how he got home…?

Demyx bit his bottom lip. "Are you sure…? This paint job really is kind of fading, and I hate seeing beauties like these get…" He trailed off, and then glanced up at Zexion again.

"_No_," Zexion said again. Really, what part of_ no_ did this moron not get?

Demyx seemed to ponder a bit more, glancing at Zexion's car, before glancing up again to meet his gaze, squaring his shoulders. "Look, I really hate seeing cars in a condition like _this—_" Zexion tried not to look miffed at this "and so I'll offer you a deal. Get a paint job and I'll give it to you 70% off – you can't get much better than that."

Zexion closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed. Would he never give up? Then again… perhaps a new paint job would pacify Leon until Zexion could get a new job to help support the rent.

"… Alright." Zexion finally muttered, and Demyx clapped his hands together excitedly. "Good! You won't regret it, I promise! Your total is now $390."

Zexion really did groan this time, pulling out his checkbook and scrawling out the details. He would really have to cut back on costs this week – use his student ID to get discount tickets for the city bus, limit his diet to ramen and frozen TV dinners, survive on only one container of Folgers coffee for a week – he shuddered at the thought as he handed the check to Demyx, who took it with a gracious smile.

"Thank you, I'll get started on this now. You can pick it up tomorrow at 3, is that alright?"

When Zexion gave him a distracted nod, the blond bowed slightly at the waist and immediately set out to work on the Acura, pulling out tools from a toolbox on the floor, leaving Zexion to shuffle out of the garage and into the hot, dusty sunlight.

The wispy ribbons of light shocked his eyes, which had gotten used to the cool dimness of the garage, and for a while all he could see were sunspots. He walked uncertainly to the right, assuming that there would be a sidewalk that would eventually lead to a bus stop, before bumping into someone.

"Pardon me," he muttered. The figure he knocked into straightened itself, until a scarily familiar voice replied.

"No problem… Zexion."

Zexion widened his eyes and glanced up in horror into the face of his elder brother, who was wearing a smirk, though not a trace of amusement could be found in his cold, cold eyes. "I see what you did to my car, Zex."

And that was when Zexion abandoned all that was left of his dignity, fell to his knees, and begged.

A/N: Well, let me know what you think!


End file.
